Life and light are intimately related in the Bible. In fashioning the earth to be inhabited, the first command God issued in Genesis 1:3 was “Let there be light”. In describing the Son of God in John 1:4, John writes, “In Him was life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:9 declares, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” God is the source of both our consciousness – self-awareness, and of our conscience – ability to discern right from wrong, which is greatly helped by knowledge of His Word.
Jesus came into the world as the living Word so that by believing in Him and in His life giving sacrifice for us we can have eternal life, as John 3:16 declares: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Following Jesus with a focus on doing what is right in God’s sight, we will increasingly walk in His light, as Proverbs 4:18 (NIV) declares: “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” There is lasting joy in a life well lived, as Psalm 97: 11-12 describes. Walking in God’s light, in true righteousness, we rejoice and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
Psalm 97 (NKJV)
1 The Lord reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad!
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.
9 For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
Though darkness yet abounds in the world, Psalm 67 declares that God will “cause His face to shine upon us”, and the day is coming when He will “judge all the people righteously and govern the nations on earth”.
Psalm 67 (NKJV)
1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth. Selah
Jesus assured the disciples in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In the same vein, Hebrews 12:2 exhorts believers to continue “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus declares in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” He also declares in John 12:46, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” Walking in His light, our path will truly be “like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Proverbs 4 also teaches that what we allow into our heart and mind greatly affects how we speak and live, and therefore verse 23 exhorts, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:22-23 about the eye being the lamp of the body; this means among other things learning to be spiritually perceptive:
Matthew 6 (AMP)
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. 23 But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!
Paul in Romans 13:12 calls believers to “cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armor of light”. He prays in Colossians 1:9-10 that believers will “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him”. In verses 13-14, he declares, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Paul encourages believers in Ephesians 5:8 to “walk as children of light”.
Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 4:6 (CJB) how God has revealed the light of his glory in our hearts through Jesus Christ: “For it is the God who once said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua [Christ Jesus].”
Peter declares in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.
1 John 1:6-7 teaches that we have true fellowship with one another by walking in the light. Verse 9 describes the first step of this walk in God’s light with Jesus Christ: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/ 5/8/16
Compelling Love 
Leave a Reply